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Mathematics in Ancient
Greek Architecture
Topics: Ancient Civilizations, Ancient Greece,
Ancient History, Architecture, Western Civilization

Words: 608 Pages: 2

Apr 21st, 2023

The emergence of the mathematical

sciences was a breakthrough discovery for
all of human civilization. Laws, orders,
equations, and identities gradually took on a
material meaning as man learned to transfer
numbers and letters from papyrus to life.
Ancient Greek architecture was not the
least area that underwent significant
metamorphosis because of the introduction
of the mathematical sciences. This essay
will briefly discuss what changes occurred
and assess the overall impact of these
sciences on the architecture of ancient
Greece.

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According to Pythagorean philosophy, the

construction of ancient buildings was based
on the profound use of numbers and
equations. Based on the principle of
symmetry, the exact ratio and distribution of
geometric forms of an object became the
norm for the architectural plan of ancient
Greece. One of the most famous
monuments of such heritage is the
Parthenon, whose ratio of length to width
and height to width is 4:9, respectively
(Meisner, 2020). This raises such an aspect
of mathematics as proportions. Moreover,
the planning of the Parthenon used the
Golden Ratio model, which is still in demand
in the architectural sciences. For this
reason, this ancient Greek temple looks
perfectly flat and symmetrical objects.

The whole architecture of Ancient Greece is

not reduced only to the figure of the
Parthenon, although it is considered the
brightest example of engineering and
architectural thought of Greeks. For
example, the ancient Greek mathematician
Euclid, who developed the basics of space
geometry, is widely known. Euclid’s grid was
often used by local architects in the
construction of neighborhoods and roads.
As advocates of order and system, the
ancient Greeks built the city of Olynthus
according to the criteria of the grid (Nevett
et al., 2020). This means that houses, roads,
streets, and blocks had a strict arrangement
relative to each other, reflecting the ancient
Greek attitude to order and convenience.

It is noteworthy that the use of

mathematics in architecture involved
mythological considerations of the ancient
Greeks. For example, most of the regular
polyhedrons, called Platonic solids, were
ascribed particular philosophies and pearls
of wisdom (Usvat, n.d.). For this reason,
golden sections were present in the building
dedicated to the deities, while civil
construction consisted of flat, cubic, and
parallelepipedic forms.

In addition, it should be understood that the

ancient Greeks did not use mathematics in a
way familiar to modern man. They had no
algebra as such, and most of the
computational problems requiring
knowledge of algebra today were solved by
geometry or diagrams (Goffin, 2016). The
construction of the magnificent sculptures
that adorned buildings, the Parthenon
columns, or the regular three-dimensional
figures as part of a facade was done either
intuitively or by following the ratios and
forms known at the time. For example,
many trigonometric functions and identities
today underlie the construction of indirect,
non-linear figures in architecture that was
available to the ancient Greeks only through
chordal techniques. Thus, one can say that
the Greeks used the mathematical sciences
in a more applied, non-abstract form in
matters of construction.

In conclusion, it should be noted that

mathematics strongly influenced ancient
Greece’s architecture. Architects used the
geometrical and arithmetical foundations of
Euclid and Pythagoras to give observable
natural phenomena a form and copy them in
construction. As such, algebra, however, was
not at the disposal of the ancient Greeks, so
it was challenging to find algebraic laws
there. Among the most striking
consequences of the mathematical
influence on the architecture of ancient
Greece are the use of symmetries and
proportions, the construction of cities and
streets according to the principles of the
grid, and the use of trigonometric functions
(implicitly) in the design of circular and non-
linear forms.

References
Goffin, P. (2016). If Ancient Greeks did not
have algebra, then how did they solve
math problems needed for constructing
buildings? Quora.

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Meisner, G. (2020). The golden ratios of the

Parthenon. Golden Number. Web.

Nevett, L. C., Tsigarida, E. B., Archibald, Z. H.,

Stone, D. L., Ault, B. A., Akamatis, N.,… &
Valdambrini, C. (2020). Constructing the
‘urban profile of an ancient Greek city:
evidence from the Olynthus project. Annual
of the British School at Athens, 115, 329-378.

Usvat, L. (n.d.). Sacred geometry and the

platonic solids. Mathematics Magazine.

Cross-Body Men’s Gestalt Theory and

Bag: Trend Analysis Its Application in
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